All in the Family

Whether authoring books together or under their own names, these are just a few of the many “writing relatives”

Alice Alfonsi writes, in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini, as both Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mysteries), and Alice Kimberly (The Haunted Bookshop Mysteries)

Kingsley Amis (Lucky Jim) is the father of Martin Amis (The Pregnant Widow: Inside History)

Geraldine Brooks (Caleb’s Crossing) is married to Tony Horwitz (A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World, 970.01 HOR)

Christopher Buckley (Supreme Courtship) is the son of the late William F. Buckley (The Rake)

Bo Caldwell (City of Tranquil Light) is married to Ron Hansen (Exiles)

John le Carré (Our Kind of Traitor) is the father of Nick Harkaway (The Gone Away World)

Michael Chabon (The Yiddish Policemen’s Union) is married to Ayelet Waldman (Red Hook Road)

Mary Higgins Clark (I’ll Walk Alone) and her daughter Carol Higgins Clark (Mobbed*) are both suspense writers - as is her former daughter-in-law Mary Jane Behrends Clark (To Have and to Kill)

Susan Conant (All Shots: A Dog Lover’s Mystery) also writes a mystery series with her daughter Jessica Conant-Park (Cook the Books).

Anita Desai (Clear Light of Day) is the mother of Kiran Desai (The Inheritance of Loss) who is the partner of Orhan Pamuk (Snow)

Joan Didion (The Year of Magical Thinking) was married to the late John Gregory Dunne (True Confessions)

Larry Dixon and Mercedes Lackey team up not only as husband and wife, but as co-authors  (Invasion)

Michael Dorris (A Yellow Raft in Blue Water) was married to Louise Erdrich (The Beet Queen)

David Eddings and his wife (often uncredited in the early works) Leigh Eddings, write as David Eddings (The Younger Gods)

Jonathan Safran Foer (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) is married to Nicole Krauss (Great House)

Glen David Gold (Sunnyside) is married to Alice Sebold (The Lovely Bones)

Joe Hill (Horns) is the son of Stephen King (Full Dark, No Stars) and Tabitha King (Candles Burning)

Tori Carrington is the pen name for the husband and wife writing team of Lori and Tony Karayianni (Love Bites)
Nick Laird (Glover’s Mistake) is married to Zadie Smith (On Beauty)

The Liaden Universe series books are written by the married team of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Ann Maxwell (who also writes as A.E. Maxwell and Elizabeth Lowell) often collaborates with her husband Evan Maxwell (Season of the Swan).

Anne McCaffrey (Dragonsong) passed along her love of writing to her son Todd (Dragonheart*).  They have co-written many titles including Dragon’s Fire*

Maan Meyers (The Organ Grinder: A Dutchman Historical Mystery*) is the name used by the husband-and-wife writing team of Martin and Annette Meyers

Judith Michael (The Real Mother) is a pseudonym for husband-and-wife writing team Judith Barnard and Michael Fain

Marcia Muller (Burn Out) and husband Bill Pronzini (Betrayers: A Nameless Detective Novel*) combine their writing skills on such works as Crucifixion River

Sisters Pamela and Mary O’Shaughnessy write together under the pen-name Perri O’Shaughnessy (Dreams of the Dead*)

Robin Paige (Death on the Lizard*) is the pseudonym used by husband-and-wife writing team Susan Wittig Albert and Bill Albert

Ann Patchett (State of Wonder) is the daughter of Jeanne Ray (Julie and Romeo)

Robin Pilcher (The Long Way Home) is the eldest son of author Rosamunde Pilcher (Coming Home)

Carolyn See (There Will Never Be Another You) is the mother of Lisa See (Shanghai Girls)

Brock and Bodie Thoene, husband and wife team write such works as The Gathering Storm

Aimée Thurlo is actually the husband wife writing team of Aimée and David Thurlo (Second Shadow)

Caroline and Charles Todd are a mother and son who collectively write as Charles Todd (A Lonely Death*)

P.J. Tracy (Monkeewrench*) is the mother/daughter team writing team of P.J. and Traci Lambrecht

David Updike (Old Girlfriends) is following the footsteps of his father, prolific author John Updike (Rabbit, Run)

The Waugh family boasts four generations of writers including Evelyn Waugh (Brideshead Revisited) who is the grandfather of Alexander Waugh (Fathers and Sons: The Autobiography of a Family)

*part of a series
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St. Charles Public Library

For more reading suggestions, explore What to Read , or Ask Readers Services! 

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